Waithe rolled his eyes. "My dear Ceres, talented be you in the ways of Magic, but hopeless in the art of swordplay."

"Let me try again." Ceres hefted the sword with both hands and swung it toward a mock enemy constructed of an upright bundle of branches. She missed. Waithe jumped out of the way as the sword escaped her grip and embedded itself in the soft ground between his feet.

He sighed as he extracted it from the ground, wiped the soil from the shiny blade, and sheathed it in his leather scabbard. "I think it safest for all that this weapon remain out of your hands."

Eira looked on with a grin on her face as Phy hovered nearby. Before the swordplay spectacle caught their attention, they chased each other about in a chaotic playful dance. It pleased Waithe to see Eira smiling, although she remained mute. Over the last several days she had clung closely to Ceres, as if fearing they would be forcibly parted. But who could fault the little girl after all the trauma she had experienced?

Ceres sat down on a log placed before their crackling campfire. A gamebird, taken earlier by Waithe's hunting bow, roasted on a wooden spit and emitted an enticing aroma. Strips of meat from another bird dried, draped over another spit placed further from the heat to be food for another day.

A solemn expression came to her face. "If I may, my skilled swordsman, what is it like to kill a man?"

Waithe sat beside her and gazed into the fire, pausing to consider a response to the unexpected question. "To a warrior, it be exhilarating, but each kill scars a part of the heart." He poked the fire with a stick. "I have killed many over the years, and most I would do so again in the same situations. I try not to think about them, but sometimes their faces appear again in my dreams. I hope the Creator God does not judge me harshly."

He turned toward her. "This be an imperfect world. You must understand, my Lady of the Order, that sometimes it be necessary to kill to survive, and justice may demand a death. I pray not, but there may come a time when you must kill or allow to die. But with it will be a loss of innocence that you can never recover."

"I think it already so. You are in my employ. Thus, I also share responsibility for those you killed to protect me." She paused in thought. "Wise is your council, Waithe. You would have been a wonderful father."

He smiled. "Thank you, my Lady. There be little praise greater than that." He motioned toward Eira who had resumed her chase games with the Spirit Phy. "And what of Eira? Would you raise her?"

"Do you think I could? I did not birth her."

"Family requires not a bloodline. Love and commitment make it so. You would be a great mother for her."

Eira's face brightened as she jumped up to the circling Phy, who just evaded her touch. Still no sound came from her lips.

Ceres said, "Phy seems to like her. If she would have me, then she shall be my daughter. And you, Waithe, you shall be as her grandfather."

He nodded and his smile grew. "Well, then, a family of sorts we shall be." He stood up. "Since you will not learn swordplay after dinner allow me to teach you some evasion and escape techniques."

*****

As they continued northward, the mixed forests of pines and deciduous trees opened up to tall grass meadows, interspersed with brightly colored wildflowers. Some trees still staked claim along streams and within valleys. 

Eira smiled, almost giggling, as the tall grass tickled her legs while riding horseback. At Waithe's urging while she rode with him, she plucked one of the long grass stems and used it to tickle Ceres on the neck when they came near. Ceres responded with a mock squeal, much to Eira's delight. Later, when Eira rode with her, Ceres had her revenge as Eira tickled Waithe.

Signs of the Taint came into view. The tall grass bent over, wilted and browned. Trees became twisted and leafless, and wildflowers lost all color. They looked up toward a stately mansion on the hill ahead, nearby stood barns and houses in various states of repair. Many of the fields and pastures that surrounded the estate seemed also cursed by the Taint. Silence gripped the riders.

Ceres broke the quiet. "Waithe, I would cure these lands. Let us see if the landowner would pay for the benefit. We need more money for supplies and I have not yet paid you your salary."

"Aye, Ceres, but it that wise? We risk detection. I can wait for my pay, I still have enough to buy ale."

"This place is remote, and we may depart soon. Removing the foul Taint is my purpose."

Waithe nodded, despite a part of him that felt this an unnecessary risk. But it was both their purpose now. They turned their horses down the winding road toward the mansion. A small weathered wooden gatehouse along the trampled path stood empty. At least half of the ornamental trees that lined a length of the road suffered from the Taint, giving the ride a feel of desolation.

They passed rows of small worker dwellings constructed of logs and lumber. Some desperately needed maintenance, while others were repaired with an eclectic mix of materials. Most had small fenced gardens behind them. A few eyes peeked tentatively out of doorways and windows at the travelers.

Eira awoke in a start from within Ceres' arms as Phy's green light appeared and danced above her. She bounded off of the horse to give chase. The pair weaved together through the houses and were soon out of sight.

"Eira, where did you go?" Ceres jumped off her horse and pursued them in a run, her blue hood falling back off her head. Waithe followed with the horses, wondering what had possessed the little girl to run off.

They found Eira exchanging glances with a little boy, perhaps the same age as her, near the door of a house along the back row of the dwellings. This house seemed to be in the worst repair of all, leaning on its foundation and looking like it might collapse at any moment. The sandy-haired boy limped barefoot from the shadows into view, his clothes dirty and tattered. Most striking, and also heart-breaking, were the makeshift wooden crutches that held him up on one leg, the other leg twisted in unnatural angles. Phy began to circle and sparkle around them, capturing the rapt attention of both children.

A voice came from inside. "Benjamin, where have you gone?" A woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing a faded brown dress emerged from the door. She carried a sleeping baby wrapped in tattered gray cloth. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped at the visitors outside, especially at Phy's green light. She bowed her head. Waithe surmised she must have seen the mark of the Order of Medice on Ceres neck. "Forgive us, my Lady, we do not mean to disturb."

Ceres answered. "You are not any bother at all. Eira and Phy here seem to have taken an interest in... your son Benjamin, is it?"

"Aye, my Lady." Her head remained bowed, but she lifted widened eyes to Phy who hovered just before her. "This be truly the Life Spirit Phy?"

"Indeed so. She can be mischievous in her ways. May I ask your name?"

The woman turned her eyes back down. "Jaya, my Lady, and my baby girl is named Rey. My husband works the fields."

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Jaya. Please be at ease." Ceres bent down before the boy. "And you, Benjamin, I am pleased to meet you." She pointed at the green light. "Phy is pleased to meet you as well."

She stood and faced Jaya. "My name is Ceres. With me is my protector Waithe. And this is Eira, my... my daughter."

Waithe closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He resisted the urge to sigh. Ceres, a wanted woman, just revealed her name. He knew, though, that her heart was good and what she now planned to do. He asked, "What happened to little Benjamin that he walks with crutches?"

Jaya replied, still appearing nervous speaking before Ceres and Waithe. "He worked threshing grain and fell beneath a drawn wagon. His bones never did set well."

Waithe's eyes grew wide. "One so young was made to do such work?"

Jaya dropped her eyes again. "The Duke requires all to work, even the young."

Waithe felt anger build within him, but he held his tongue. He would not burden this family with an outburst.

Ceres looked over to Waithe, who nodded. She then turned back to Jaya. "What say you that I heal Benjamin?"

Jaya put one hand to her mouth as the baby in her other arm squirmed. "Would you, my Lady? Could you?"

"I would try."

Jaya fetched warm water and urged Benjamin to drink a bitter tonic that Ceres prepared. Ceres then sat down with the little boy on the ground and took one of his hands. Eira also sat down at Ceres' nodding request and took hold of a hand from each to form a three person circle. Benjamin looked on in wonder as Phy settled in the middle of the ring and sparkled.

Ceres said, "Do not be alarmed, as I will also call on the Life Spirit Dal to assist. She is most fond of children. Let us begin."

Ceres closed her eyes and began to hum softly. In a moment Dal's amber light appeared, and with Phy, swirled about them. In another moment the Magic shimmer also came into view and settled on the little boy like a falling mist.

Waithe stood behind Ceres. His heart rate increased as he anticipated another vision of his own daughter. He was not disappointed.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Aala looked with narrowed eyes at the little boy she just met at a town gathering. She seemed not sure she should share the small painted metal cup she clutched, but the boy held an equally enticing carved stick. In a few moments, though, they sat together examining each other's treasure.

Slowly, Benjamin's leg began to straighten as the intensity of the shimmer increased. The boy looked on with raised eyebrows and showed no indication of any pain. Some of the shimmer also settled on the baby girl in her mother's arms as Jaya gazed in wonder.

The shimmer faded away along with Phy and Dal. Ceres and Eira opened their eyes simultaneously and smiled. The boy opened his mouth wide and reached down to feel his straightened leg.

Ceres said, "Benjamin, let us see if you would stand without those crutches."

Carefully she helped him up to a wobbly stance. She let go of his hands. He wavered, took a small tentative step, wavered again, and took another step. Ceres was rewarded with a huge smile on his face. His balance then faltered and she reached to steady him.

Ceres turned to his mother. "He is unsteady on his feet yet, but in time he should walk well again. Oh, and I also healed the baby's diaper rash. And I think her first tooth will appear soon."

Tears ran down Jaya's face as she kneeled before her son and hugged him, tightly enough to make him gasp. She then knelt before Ceres with head bowed. "Thank you, my Lady. I... I can never repay you for this miracle."

Ceres helped Jaya up and then embraced her. She whispered, "Raise your children well. That is payment enough."

Waithe stepped before Ceres and Eira as two burly men with scowling faces rounded the house and advanced toward them. He raised his hand near the hilt of the sword strapped on his back but did not draw it.

One of the men pointed at Waithe and spat his words. "Trespassers! Who be you and what be 'yer purpose?"